


unspoken words

by seungbinsung



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Background Relationships, Drinking, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Roommates, Side Characters — Soonie Doongie and Dori, lots of daddy issues, the author projects once again!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26557474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungbinsung/pseuds/seungbinsung
Summary: Rule one in looking for roommates, Seungmin thought, one that doesn’t talk much. He already had his fair share in having a talkative roommate last year. Now, he would rather have someone who doesn’t talkas much.What he never expected is to have a roommate that doesn’t communicate with himat all.And it really angers Seungmin just a little bit.
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 44
Kudos: 587
Collections: Seungmin-Centric Ficfest, our divorced couple °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°





	unspoken words

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #60:**
>
>> _ A and B share an apartment but never cared much for each other, until A is caught having a breakdown in the corner of his room when B would just say he would be out of the house for a few days to visit his parents but in the end he gives up. _
> 
> [ 1 ] this fic mentions homophobia and internalized homophobia— i don't describe the experience first-hand but they talk about what they went through.
> 
> [ 2 ] to whoever sent this prompt, thank you for submitting your idea. i know my work isn't perfect but i hope you enjoy reading it anyway
> 
> [ 3 ] to 2min nation, keep hanging on to those divorced couple crumbs since minho wont let seungmin live T^T
> 
> please enjoy ^♡^
> 
> [originally revealed 200923]

— // —

Seungmin wasn’t complaining. Really, he wasn’t. In all honesty, he would _rather_ have a roommate who doesn’t talk to him rather than someone who never shuts up. (From his experience last year with Hwang Hyunjin, he’s learned that a quiet roommate is better than someone who doesn’t shut up— even if Hyunjin and him became friends right after).

His experience from Hyunjin to Lee Minho was drastically different. 

Let's back track.

Seungmin had been looking for a roommate ever since he got an apartment conveniently near university. Dorms were _much_ more expensive than finding someone he can live with off-campus (though probably a lot safer). He initially wanted to ask Hyunjin to be his roommate again, but they were already roommates with Seungmin’s best friend—or well, Hyunjin’s boyfriend, Jeongin that they met through Seungmin, and he couldn’t accommodate two people in the new apartment. 

Seungmin almost gave up. He’s not picky—maybe a little bit—but almost all the people he interviewed had something that Seungmin couldn’t tolerate. They were either too chatty, too quiet and rigid, one didn’t know how to clean the bathroom, and another had their nose up in the air. 

Until Lee Minho. 

Minho knows what he wanted. He held himself comfortably but he wasn’t too stuck up. He had his own set of rules that had surprisingly matched most, if not all with a few word changes, of Seungmin’s own rules. 

“Are we sure he isn’t programmed to be your roommate?” Hyunjin asked. 

Hyunjin is a conspiracist (Jeongin said that’s why he liked them). They don’t believe in anything and always blow things out of proportion. 

Seungmin rolls his eyes, “Is it so bad that I found someone who matches my personality?”

“Hey, don’t forget I thought you were a programmed robot too for like the first three months we were roommates.”

 _“Three?”_ Seungmin repeated. Jeongin didn’t react at the revelation, “Did _you_ know?”

Jeongin raised his hands in the air, “Their points made sense, it was inarguable.”

Seungmin’s mouth hung open, but calmed his nerves in the end. He continued to list off things about Lee Minho, he drinks, but not too much, he pulls an all-nighter at the library when it’s midterm or final season, but he said he’ll “try to be quiet” when coming home. He’s gay, which he only told Seungmin because he didn't want to live with anyone who is homophobic (Seungmin then confidently tells him that he’s gay himself). His friends also lived in an apartment not too far from them, abandoned by his friends who were also dating.

“It’s almost like you two have the same things listed, it’s creepy!” Hyunjin said, still reading the copies Seungmin had printed for them.

“Yeah, I’m with them with this,” Jeongin agreed, putting the paper down. “What does he look like?”

“I don’t know,” Seungmin shrugged, “Tall, but still shorter than me. His nose is pointed, his eyes are a pretty shade of brown, he’s a bit soft spoken, he has a lean body—” Seungmin stopped himself staring at the couple in front of him, “His hair is blonde.” He paused again. “I think.”

The couple now wore the same smile, “Kim Seungmin,” Jeongin cooed, “Do you by chance have a crush on your programmed-roommate-to-be?”

“What? No,” he flushed, scrambling for something to say in the back of his mind, but nothing came out. “Just tell me if I should let him be my roommate.”

“Honestly,” Hyunjin began, a smirk tugging at the end of their lip, “I was against this but now I’m interested in how it would fold out for you.”

“It’s a contract for a year,” Seungmin sighed, collecting the papers again. “What could go wrong?”

So, here’s the thing.

Lee Minho was exactly what he’s written. It was nice for the first few weeks, but upon being roommates for two weeks, Seungmin almost wished he had an actual robot roommate instead. The one who he can actually have a decent conversation with.

See, Minho doesn’t talk much— hell, he doesn’t talk at all. When Seungmin asked for his schedule to compare theirs, he just nodded. The next day, it was posted on the fridge for Seungmin to compare by himself. He wondered if Minho even checked his, but when Seungmin brought it up, their conversation went something like: “Did you know we have a class together?” “Yep.” “You have a night class, too.” “Yeah, sorry if I’m loud at night.”

He wasn’t irresponsible, he cleans when it was time for him to, he cooperates (sometimes actually participates) with the decision making— he just really preferred working separately from Seungmin. Which—fine, work on your own, but sometimes just a little communication would be nice. Maybe he got too used to having a loud roommate—Hyunjin to be exact.

One time Seungmin even forgot he even had a roommate in the first place. 

Every month ever since he moved into the other room, Minho would leave for a week. At first, it caught Seungmin off guard—his roommate wasn’t back for at least a week, who wouldn’t be freaking out? 

Then, there were days when Seungmin wouldn’t hear _anything_ about him. Of course, they didn’t have mutual friends, he didn’t think it was important to check background information on who he hung out with. Seungmin has never seen any of Minho’s friends except that one kid who had a round face, huge, gummy smile, and a really loud personality (also loud in general). If Seungmin had paid closer attention, he would’ve learned their name, but they were at their place once and that was when Minho had forgotten something. He came into the apartment, the shorter following behind him. The friend waved at Seungmin and barely had the time to introduce themself—that’s why Seungmin had barely caught their name—when Minho was already out his room, wallet in his hand and dragging the shorter, without uttering another word except “Bye”.

So, whenever Minho would be going out, Seungmin just assumed that he was out somewhere with his friends. And if he doesn’t return within a day or two, he wonders if Minho was back at his home. When it was more than two days— _that’s_ when he started to panic, but Minho would usually come out from the bathroom (Seungmin almost jumped out of his skin that one time) or walk in at any hour while he was wondering.

“You have to tell me if you’re not coming back for more than two days,” Seungmin once said. He was specifically waiting for Minho to walk in the doors, scared out of his mind. He had his phone in one hand, debating on calling the police department about a missing person. 

That is until Minho walked in, his bag slung on his shoulder, and looked right at Seungmin phone almost near his ears, 119 punched in and ready to ring. What else was he supposed to do? Minho wasn’t back for _four_ days.

“I almost called the cops for a missing person.”

Minho offered a smile, “No need to worry, roomie.” That was a nickname Minho had come up for Seungmin, or maybe that was just what he called him. He had his fair amount of theories that Minho doesn’t actually know his name. “I was just at my mom's.”

“Well, maybe a little heads up would be a good idea. I tried to text you but you didn’t answer.”

“Forgot my charger.” Could’ve probably charged it on yourself (Seungmin was almost convinced he actually was a robot, Hyunjin made sure their conspiracies never die whenever he hung out with them).

“Couldn’t you have asked someone?”

“You know, it’s nice to be away from your phone every once in a while.”

“I don’t have your friends’ or any emergency contact, do you know how scary it is to not hear from your roommate for days?”

Minho scrambles for a sticky note in his bag, jotting something down. Seungmin crossed his eyebrows, trying to see what he was writing but kept himself seated on the couch.

“This is Chan-hyung’s number,” Minho said, giving Seungmin the paper. He stared at the number written, wondering _who the fuck is Chan?_ “Chan is my best friend, he’s Jisung’s boyfriend, the round tiny kid you met that one time. One of them will know where I’ll be if I’m gone.”

“What about, here,” Seungmin got up, walking to his desk and picking up a newly bought magnetic white board. He put it up the fridge, and wrote “ _Seungmin is staying at his sister's from April 12-15”._

“Now you know that I’ll be gone for three days.”

“Okay,” Minho shrugged, walking towards his room. “I’ll be gone sometime during the beginning of the month, the usual but keep Chan-hyung’s number. Just in case I forget to write something down and I try to live the moment.”

 _Live the moment my ass_ , Seungmin thought, picking up his shoes, the paper still in his hand.

“Hey, you didn’t sign off,” Minho pouted, holding the knob to his door.

“I’ll be back tonight,” Seungmin bidded, before closing the door. He stared at the paper once more, seeing a tiny drawing of a cat on the corner of the note.

And that was the end of that.

The only “meaningful” conversation Minho and Seungmin really ever had was about Minho’s recital. He wrote on the board that he’ll be coming home at ungodly late hours and apologized for the future inconvenience and possible loud, crashing noises that could wake him up.

“So, you're a dance major?” Seungmin asked, curiously. Minho just came out after a shower, cooking a meal for himself then, while Seungmin was busy studying for his own midterms at the dining table, eating what he had prepared for himself—instant ramen, a college student hack in eating _something_. 

“I thought that was obvious?” Minho stated, but it came out more as a question. “I got killer thighs.”

Seungmin picked up his cup, turning to look at Minho past the island counter that had separated their kitchen from the dining.

“Am I right?”

His ears burned red when he had realized that he looked down right when he turned. He struggled to form a coherent sentence— _word_ , for that matter. So, instead of answering immediately, he just put his cup down, spinning his pen on one hand. “Yeah, whatever you say.”

“You should come.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you friends with Hwang Hyunjin?” 

“You know them?”

“Sure.” Minho answered, sliding a bowl of ramen made from scratch towards Seungmin and another in front of him in the dining, “I’m their dance mentor.”

“What’s this?” Seungmin asked, pointing at the bowl near his books.

“You can’t study for midterms with instant ramen in your stomach.”

Seungmin pouted, “How much do I owe you?”

“What?” Minho shook his head, “It’s fine, just eat and then come to my showcase.”

“I’ll buy tickets.”

“I’ll get you them.”

“It’s okay, I can get my own.” Seungmin said, a small smile on his face, “Plus you already gave me this.”

(Minho got him the tickets anyway, pinning it on the board. A simple ‘ _Be there’_ written right beside them, and a doodle of the same smiling cat he drew before. Seungmin couldn’t help but smile back at the drawing.)

Seungmin supposed it wasn’t really a meaningful conversation. Moreso, a conversation that was long enough that Seungmin learned more things about Minho than he had the past _three_ months they shared an apartment together. 

(Bonus, Minho _maybe_ actually cared about him.)

“You know my roommate?” 

Hyunjin stopped halfway to their bite when Seungmin approached them and Jeongin in the cafeteria. 

“Who?”

“Lee Minho, the robot.”

“Oh, Minho-hyung!”

“Hyung?” Seungmin repeated. He doesn’t even call Minho hyung though they’ve known each other long enough to be friends. If only they decided to actually talk.

“Yeah, he’s my mentor. Definitely not a robot.” Hyunjin said, finally engulfing the bite they had to stop to answer Seungmin. “Though he is crazy good at dancing, but movement wise, he’s not a robot and mesmerizing.” (Jeongin cleared his throat.) “You’re number one in my heart.”

Seungmin almost threw up. 

“How’d you know?” that was Jeongin, “You two finally talked?” 

“Yeah, kind of,” he shrugged. “He gave me a bowl of ramen.”

“ _Oooh_ ,” Hyunjin teased, “Ramen, sign of love.”

“Do you ever shut up?”

“Minho-hyung is nice!” they tried to shift the conversation, “I don’t know why you guys barely talk. He actually, like, never shuts up.”

Seungmin wondered why that is. He’s been nothing but inviting for the older. Left messages for him to reply to, but instead, he either gets a cat doodle or just a one-word answer. One time he drew a detailed cat, but it wasn’t any different from the past cats he’s drawn on the board. It just had more… fur. (If that’s what Minho was trying to draw anyway—he wasn’t the best artist.)

“Guess, I’ll just try to talk more,” Seungmin shrugged, stealing Jeongin’s food.

When he attended their midterm show, Hyunjin’s words echoed at the back of his mind. Minho definitely was mesmerizing as you keep watching him perform. Seungmin would even say he was hypnotized by the way he moved on the stage. The choice of fluidity compared to more rigid movements, balanced into one performance left Seungmin in awe that the only thing he was able to say after was: “Good job.”

Minho laughed, taking the flowers Seungmin had bought for him. (“Should I be bringing one for my partner too?” “I don’t know. Aren’t you supposed to give one for performers anyway?” “Are you?” “Just get them one, Jeongin!”) 

“Thanks, roomie.”

The first, and only, time Seungmin had to call Chan was when Minho was gone for almost four days during their finals. He thought that maybe Minho thinks Seungmin wouldn’t realize that he was gone since it was a hectic time of the year, but he got light classes and his roommate never came back to the apartment. Seungmin had tried to calm his nerves down for the boy, but he kept wondering where he could possibly be. He even wondered if Minho had just dropped university; it was a common resolution for most students. (Finals too overwhelming? Just drop!)

 _“Hello?”_ Chan answered, uncertainty in his voice. _“Who is this?”_

“Seungmin,” he said, too quickly.

_“Yeah, Seungmin-ssi, I’m gonna need more than your name.”_

“Kim Seungmin, your friend’s roommate, Lee Minho?”

 _“Oh, Seungmo!”_ a different person screeched, Seungmin concluded he was on speaker.

“No, it’s _Seungmin_.” Seungmin pauses, the mere fact that Minho doesn’t know his name dawning on him. “ _Min_ not _mo_ ,” he says more carefully that time.

_“Well, Minho definitely calls you Seungmo.”_

“Well,” he mocked, “it’s Seungmin.” He sighed, “Where’s your friend?”

 _“With me and my boyfriend, two blocks down!”_ he enthusiastically replied. _“Why?”_

“Why?” Seungmin almost shrieked. He covered the mouth piece for him to breathe heavily, stress relieving off his shoulders. He whispered to himself, _you’re okay, it’s okay_. 

Once calm, he removed his palm on the mouth piece, “Nothing, I was just worried he hasn’t returned in a few days.”

 _“Oh, well he actually just got back from his mom’s—”_ then it was a little bit awkward on the other line with Chan not continuing his sentence, but the rustling of fabric still audible. _“Thank you for caring Seungmo—I mean Seungmin. I’ll bring him back tomorrow, is that fine?”_

“Yep,” Seungmin nodded, before hanging up.

“He doesn’t know my name!” he complained the next day to Jeongin and Hyunjin. The two of them stare at each other, before looking at the exasperated Seungmin who stood before them.

“Who doesn’t know your name?” Jeongin was the first to ask.

“Minho! My roommate doesn’t know his roommate's _name_.”

Hyunjin bit back a laugh, “Didn’t you hold an interview? Shouldn’t you have introduced yourself then?”

“I did!” Seungmin shrieked, “I guess he forgot and thought my name was Seungmo.”

“How’d you know?” Jeongin asked. 

“I called Chan the other day, and someone went, all Seungmo!” Hyunjin tilted their head. “Seungmo!” Seungmin repeated, almost losing his mind. “ _How_ and _where_ did he get Seungmo?”

“Seungmo?” Hyunjin repeated quietly, “So, _you_ are the person he was talking about,” they laughed to themself. Jeongin and Seungmin stared at them—Seungmin more glaring. “What?”

“He talks about me?”

Then, as if something dawned on Hyunjin, their facial expression changed from worried, amused, and back to neutral, clearing their throat before answering,

“Yeah, he’s mentioned a Seungmo a couple of times, but never said they were his roommate so I just never thought it was you.”

Seungmin finally calmed down, “Good… or bad?” his voice barely made it out from the loudness of the food court.

“Mostly good,” Hyunjin replied. 

“So some were bad?”

“I mean—” Hyunjin tried, dropping their chopsticks. “Not _bad_ , more like neutral.”

“What has he said?”

Hyunjin awkwardly laughed, avoiding eye contact with either Jeongin or Seungmin. 

“Hyun?” Seungmin called, voice more stern than hysterical compared to earlier. “What has he said?”

“He said you were attractive once,” the older paused, jerking their head to the side. “Maybe more than once.” 

Seungmin’s eyes widened. Jeongin almost laughed if only Seungmin didn’t kick him on his knee, and the devil himself stands behind them.

“Hey.”

Seungmin felt his cheeks burn, “Hi.”

Jeongin and Hyunjin suppressed their laughter once more, Seungmin kicked them both under the table.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” 

Seungmin blinked. The couple looked at each other before looking back at Seungmin. They continued eating their food, ignoring Seungmin’s obvious sign of help.

“Yeah, lead the way.”

Minho didn’t walk too far from Hyunjin and Jeongin, but far enough that the two couldn’t eavesdrop to their conversation.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Seungmin snapped.

Minho crossed his eyebrows, “For not telling you about my disappearance but I have a feeling you’re angry about something else?”

“Minho, what’s my name?”

The older of the two almost laughed, “Is that a trick question?” Seungmin stared at him blankly, hoping to get the message across that he’s not joking. “Kim Seungmin.”

“Who’s Seungmo?”

Minho smiled, “You don’t like your nickname?”

“I don’t like how your friends know me as Seungmo.”

Minho clicked his tongue, wagging his finger at Seungmin, which he slapped away. He smiled to himself. “Hyunjin told you something else, didn’t they?”

“What would Hyunjin say?”

He shrugged, “Something along the lines of me finding you attractive.”

Seungmin huffed, “I’m leaving.”

“Ah, Seungmo!” Minho called, but Seungmin didn’t turn around for him, cheeks too red and embarrassed for the older to see. “See you at home,” he heard him laugh before walking to the opposite side.

Seungmin sat back down to his seat, cheeks still puffed and flushed for the couple to pick on. He growled at them, eating his food. 

“You guys are the worst.”

— // —

Seungmin’s birthday is just around the corner. His mother has nagged him a good amount, reminding him to come home for a week. He’s not really excited to go back home (he didn’t even leave their apartment the whole semester break, just worked at the library on-campus). For starters, his family is never the greatest at the whole “family bonding”, if anything, they’re just forced to bond when it’s someone’s birthday or a holiday where you’re supposed to be with family.

But still, he tries. Even if inevitably, he ends up despising family gatherings a little bit more.

He picks up the black marker on the fridge, occupying the now updated calendar whiteboard compared to the blank one from last semester. A simple ‘ _Seungmin gone’_ was written on September 16-23. 

He steps back to check the calendar on his phone again, making sure he got the whole week covered. Once assured, he knocks on Minho’s door. He knows the older is inside, whether studying or sleeping, he just wanted to let the older know he’s leaving. 

“Minho?” he asks, knocking again.

There’s a policy in their house that unless a person says come in are they allowed to come in, but when the door opens ajar, Seungmin couldn’t help himself but push it slightly more for his head to peek through.

“Minho?” he asks again, softer when he doesn’t see him on his bed. 

He hears sniffling on the corner by Minho’s closet, and the man himself is sitting there, arms hugging himself closer.

“Can I come in?”

Minho barely nods.

Seungmin drops his bags outside his room, not letting Minho know any sign that he was heading out. He enters the room, closing the door behind him.

“Hey,” he speaks softly, reaching his hand for Minho to take. He doesn’t move, just crying softly and bringing his knees closer to himself. “Should I call Chan?”

Minho’s eyes widen, putting his knees to the floor and stopping Seungmin from grabbing his phone in his pocket. He softly shakes his head no, hand now taking Seungmin's offered hand earlier.

Seungmin frowns, adjusting himself to sit next to Minho, hand still holding him tightly. Minho still doesn’t utter a single word, sometimes sniffling.

“I saw a cat video,” Seungmin tries. He gazes down at the older next to him; Minho makes no sudden movement, or even a change in expression, or to simply bat an eye. “Do you wanna see it?”

Though Minho still stares ahead, Seungmin feels the grip on his hand tighten a little bit, so he reaches to his pocket, pulling his messages with Felix. He met xem through Hyunjin, introducing Felix as a classmate they had in one of their dance classes. He and Felix aren’t necessarily close—they were acquaintances at best—but whenever Felix sees a cute animal video, xe always sends it to Seungmin, and Seungmin would do the same.

Seungmin tilts his phone to Minho, a video of an owner saying “Excuse me? Why are you so cute?” while showing a tabby grey cat on the camera. Minho smiles a little bit. Seungmin uses this opportunity to show more videos, hoping that it would cheer him up.

By the time he’s scrolled through all the sent cat videos by Felix, Minho leans into his shoulder, adjusting his head to find comfort past the jacket Seungmin wore. Then he’d start pointing at videos Seungmin sent himself, responding more to the videos past a smile or a small laughter. 

“Are you leaving?” were Minho's first actual sentence that night, Seungmin is still scrolling through his messages for more animal videos.

“What?”

“You’re dressed and you smell good.” Seungmin blushes at the small compliment, “I just thought you were heading out.”

“Oh.” Seungmin thinks for a little bit, “I was just going to grab something from the convenient store.”

Minho nods, finally letting go of his grip on Seungmin. They didn’t realize how long it’s been since Minho held onto his hand until they felt a slight sweat on their palms. “Sorry for… that.”

“The sweat?” Seungmin teases.

Minho rolls his eyes, “Yeah, obviously.” Seungmin just laughs.

“You don’t have to apologize.” Minho opens his mouth again, but Seungmin interrupts him, “Or explain why.”

“It’s late."

“Yes,” Seungmin says matter of factly, the moon beaming from the window. “I’ll head back to my room.”

Seungmin held his hand out for the older to take and get up. Minho adjusts himself on the bed, and just before Seungmin completely left his room he thought— he can't go home now, he can't drive and the busses are all gone by then (and he is not crazy enough to pay hundreds of dollars for a cab to take him home), so he turns back around.

“Do you want to eat out?” he asks, “I’m starving.”

Minho smiles a little bit, “I’ll go change.”

“What’d you want to eat?” Seungmin asks first, while Minho locks their door. 

The older starts listing off restaurants he knew were still open, some he has visited at this hour if he was still out with a couple of friends. He also lists off his favourite meals in each restaurant, hoping to spark an interest in Seungmin. 

“Oh, maybe Changbin is working right now,” Minho says, checking his phone for the time. Seungmin waits for an explanation who Changbin was. “Changbin is one of Chan’s boyfriends. He works at a board game cafe.”

“One of?”

“Yeah, you know, like polyam relationships,” Minho responds, studying Seungmin’s look. “Ah, it’s recent. I think I mentioned Jisung as Chan’s boyfriend before?” Seungmin nods. “It took a little while for all three of them to figure out they want to date each other. Turns out they not only like to work in the studio but also in the bedroom.”

“Ugh,” Seungmin groans, “And I thought I’d learn about your friends another way.”

Minho laughs, stopping in front of a cafe, Seungmin presumes that’s where the infamous Changbin is working right now. “Well you’ll get to know one of them right now.” 

He pushes the door open, holding for Seungmin to enter. The room was well-lit, probably since it’s hard to play games in the dark. Though one side is dimmer than the other, Seungmin presumed it was a request on behalf of the customers since it was nearly midnight, and some games are fun to play in the dark.

On the side, Seungmin hears the generic customer greeting: “Welcome to Diced, how many people—Minho-hyung?”

Before Minho attacks the employee, Seungmin reads the name tag on his chest. Changbin grumbles pushing the older off, which isn’t exactly easy for him despite looking broader than Minho.

“How’s work?”

“Terrible, some kid got angry they lost a game in _Monopoly_ and started throwing the pieces at their other friend,” Changbin laughs, picking up two menus for them. “You two are together right?”

“Together in what way?” Minho smirks. 

Seungmin hits him, “Yeah, we came in _together_.” Changbin bites back a laugh. “I’m Seungmin.”

Changbin frowns for a second before brightening up again, “Seungmo!” So, it’s a universal knowledge that Minho had told his friends that his roommate’s name is Seungmo. Seungmin looks at Minho who only held a teasing smile. “Nice to meet you, I’m Changbin. A friend, unfortunately, of Minho’s.”

“Come on,” Minho says, grating on his tone, holding the back of Changbin’s neck. The shorter shrieks under his touch, before finally slapping his hand away. “Ow,” Minho pouts, his voice monotone, “That’s not very customer friendly of you.”

Changbin rolls his eyes, walking the two to an open table near a cupboard full of Monopoly games. “I’d suggest not playing the Paris one, it’s still missing a few pieces from this afternoon.”

“Noted.”

Seungmin and Minho take their jackets off to hang on the side of the couch Changbin greatly offered them. 

“You know the whereabouts of games,” Changbin says, grabbing his notepad from the back of his jeans. “Cards are to be taken from me—”

“Can we have one?” Seungmin interrupts. Changbin looks up at him, before grabbing a deck from his other pocket. “Thanks.”

“Don’t lose one card or I’ll bill you off the whole deck,” Seungmin pouts. “Restaurant policy, don’t pout at me, I made sure that’s 52, plus jokers so 54. Now drinks?”

“Just coke,” Minho shames Seungmin for his order, which he pays no attention to. Minho orders _soju_ for himself.

Once Changbin is inside the kitchen, grabbing their drinks (Seungmin wonders if he works by himself when it’s late at night), Minho and Seungmin are off looking at other cupboards around the cafe, “So, thoughts?”

“The place or your friend?”

“Both?”

“The place is dainty,” Seungmin looks around, a slight smile on his lips. “Perfect for your friend.” Minho just laughs, picking up a game off the shelf, Seungmin follows suit. 

“Are we going to play all that?” he asks, watching Minho stack three more games in his arms. 

“Yes,” Minho answers, turning to him. “And why aren’t _you_ picking anything up?”

“Well, for starters, there’s only the two of us, it’s pretty hard to pick a game.”

“I can always ask Changbin to join us.”

“He’s working.”

“It’s Thursday,” Minho snorts. “He’s working by himself because no one else comes this late on a Thursday. Now go pick up something.”

Seungmin picks up a random game, following Minho back to their table. Changbin places their drinks on the table, picking up his notepad again.

“Does it get tiring?” Minho asks. Changbin stares at him, an unspoken “What are you talking about this time?” can be concluded from his stance. “You don’t even write anything.”

“That’s because customers always order jalapeño poppers,” Changbin grumbles. “ _Always_.”

“I’d like some poppers,” the older muses, turning to Seungmin, who nods his head in approval, “Yeah, we’d like some poppers.”

“I hate you,” Changbin mumbles, taking the menu off his hands.

“And nachos,” Seungmin says. Changbin nods, ready to take the menu off Seungmin's hands but he takes the menu back slightly, pointing it towards the closed notepad Changbin still held in his hand, “Might wanna write it down.”

Minho snorts, while Changbin sarcastically laughs, taking the menu off Seungmin’s hands with force. “You know, ever since finding out you’re Minho-hyung’s crush, I never thought you’d be like him.”

Changbin grows shorter, holding his shin and screaming an _“Ow!”_

“Get us our meals, gamer boy!” Changbin pokes his tongue out before completely leaving the two behind.

“So,” Seungmin starts.

“Oh, shut up.”

“What?” Seungmin giggles. When he settles down, he smirks at Minho, “You have a crush on me?”

“No,” Minho denies. “I said you were cute once and everyone said I have a huge crush on you. Plus, you’re not one to talk; Hyunjin said you described me incredibly well the first time we met.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes, “Aren’t you going to set up a game?”

“I wanna try 20 questions first.” Seungmin opens his mouth to protest on how lame his idea was but Minho continues without letting him speak. “First question, do you or do you not still find me attractive?”

“I do, but that’s objective.”

“Thank you, I’m ignoring the last part,” he opens his soju, drinking a gulp before saying, “Your turn.”

“What’s something you hate about me as your roommate?”

“You really wanna go there?” Minho challenges.

Seungmin frowns, “Are there a lot? Oh god, please tell me. Wait, don’t say it all in one go, I don’t think I can handle it. No, actually fuck that, tell me. Why are you just smiling? _Tell me!”_

“You’re cute when you ramble,” Minho notes, Seungmin blushes. “I only have one issue and that’s you spraying yourself with cologne in the bathroom after you shower.”

“You’re not supposed to?”

“No?” Minho leans back, “You spray in your room, I don’t want to smell your cologne.”

Seungmin leans back just as much, “I don’t know, you said I smelled good earlier.”

“What’s mine?”

Seungmin juts his lip, looking at the ceiling, recalling any memories where he was annoyed at Minho. “You know how you wake up in the middle of the night and suddenly heat up something?”

“You mean when I’m hungry?”

“At _three_ in the morning?” Seungmin deadpans, “Our microwave is loud _._ ”

“That’s not my fault! You should buy a new microwave if it annoys you so much,” Minho grumps, “And stop judging my madness.”

“What if I said I wanted to join you?”

Minho smirks a little. “Maybe I can make some arrangements.”

They take turns in asking, Changbin had dropped off their meals, answering one for Minho when Seungmin asked “What's up with the cat drawings?”

“He likes to draw his three cats.” Minho nods, pointing at Changbin as if to agree.

“But you're just drawing _one_ cat?”

Minho stares at him blankly, and Changbin immediately left the table, as if knowing that Minho was about to go on a rant about his three cats (Seungmin assumed it wasn't out of ordinary for Minho to go on for ten minutes—maybe longer—when talking about his cats).

Seungmin pulls Chan's number out of his pocket, showing the drawing Minho had put in the corner, “Which one is this then?”

“You just keep my drawings in your wallet?” Minho teases.

Seungmin rolls his eyes, “Just answer.”

“That's Dori, the youngest one.”

Then, he still kept going, telling him how he draws one of them with more hair, which Seungmin could kind of picture in the back of his mind. He only stopped when Changbin refilled their drinks and he asks them why they haven't played any games. That's when Minho stops (though Seungmin wished he'd continue rambling mindlessly about the cats he cared so much about), picking up a game.

“Let’s play _Zombie Dice_.”

Interesting fact about Zombie Dice; it’s a game of luck and risk. Minho is one lucky man who has no fear of risking. Contrary to that, Seungmin is kind of lucky who plays in the safezone. So who wins? 

“This is a stupid game,” Minho mumbles, pushing the cylinder back to Seungmin. He had just lost 6 brains, that could've been saved if he had just stopped. It wasn’t like he could've predicted no shot— he had three green dice, yet they all landed on shots, making Minho lose _all_ his brains for that round.

“Don’t be a sore loser,” Seungmin grins, rolling the dice himself. 

In the midst of Minho’s round, Seungmin’s phone starts ringing. He excuses himself from the table (Changbin had joined them then, also playing the safezone, but not as lucky as Seungmin nor Minho so he was at the bottom of the barrel.)

“Hello?” he answers.

 _“Sweetheart, are you safe?”_ Ah, it’s his mother. _“It’s past midnight and we’re all worried sick you haven’t texted any of us where you are or any updates.”_

“Yeah, sorry I just,” he looks back at Minho and Changbin playing inside. Minho is throwing the dice at Changbin, probably complaining about the game, and soon Changbin is throwing them right back at him. Seungmin inevitably smiles, only brought back to reality when his mother calls him. “I’m with some friends?”

_“Friends?”_

“Yeah, my roommate and I, we’re hanging out, and one of his friends came along.” _Kinda._

_“Are you still coming to visit?”_

Seungmin purses his lips for a moment, “I don't think so.”

_“Baby, you know we’d love to spend your birthday with you. We haven’t seen you since you got that apartment.”_

“I know, but,” Seungmin sighs, “I think I want to spend it here.”

_“Seungie.”_

“I’ll visit some other time, I promise.”

 _“He’s not coming, is he?”_ Seungmin hears his father ask. He already feels a strain on his throat as he swallows hearing his voice. _“I told you to stop forcing him to come home. You’re always pleasing him!”_

Seungmin frowns, hearing the muffling of hand to the mouthpiece and being left on hold for a couple seconds before his mother comes back on the phone, continuing the conversation like nothing happened.

_“We miss you, Seungmin. Your dad, he’s—”_

“He’s what?” Seungmin interrupts, an immediate guilt occurring to him as soon as he says it. “Sorry.”

“I love you, Seungmin.”

 _I wish you were a little braver to defend me to him._ “I love you, too.”

His mother hangs up not too long after. The phone lights up to show a picture of him and his sister, letting a heavy sigh escape his lips as he recalls when everything was fine.

“Hey,” someone calls from the door. “You coming back?”

“Yeah, I just have to text my sister.”

Minho nods, stepping back inside the cafe. Seungmin picks up his phone again, sending a quick message to his sister.

 _To noona:_ _  
_srry won’t be home this weekend  
can i visit u when you’re back?

 _From noona:_ _  
_That’s ok I know  
Mom was expecting you tho

 _To noona:_ _  
_u know i cant come when he’s around  
i’ll see you when i see you okay?

 _From noona:_ _  
_Give me a heads up beforehand

 _To noona:_ _  
_will do.

 _From noona:_ _  
_And if you’re bringing someone..

 _To noona:_ _  
_i’m not dating anyone

 _From noona:_ _  
_No? damn would've thought you started at least kissing your roommate ever since you went on a full rant the other day

 _To noona:_ _  
_i hate u

 _From noona:_ _  
_I miss you, Seung

 _To noona:_ _  
_i know  
i miss u too

“So what’s the deal?” Minho asks. Changbin is now back at cleaning the kitchen, a couple more people coming in the cafe. Mostly to eat though, unlike Seungmin and Minho who were both dedicated to finishing their game of monopoly.

“What do you mean?”

“Your sister,” he arches an eyebrow, “Family issues?”

“Are you always that nosy?”

Minho raises his hands up, deciding to leave the unmasked wound alone. Seungmin bites his lip, not meaning to snap at the older. It’s not like he owed to tell him, but it didn’t feel any good inside of him that he snapped rather than telling him nicely to not be touchy with the subject.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Minho hums, moving his token four properties over. “Sorry for overstepping if anything.”

A couple of silence passes, as if they weren’t playing a game that doesn’t involve communication. Sometimes, Minho would call out a move. Other times, Seungmin would. But the silence is still unbearable.

“How’d you know?”

“Know what?”

“That it’s about family.”

“You’ve only ever written “staying at your sister’s”, you were frowning while you were on a call with one of your parents, I assume. Then you texted your sister—so, maybe the only one you can talk to in your family.” He shrugs, “It’s common for families. I’ve seen it with other people.”

“How about you? Do you have your own family issues to deal with?”

Seungmin likes to think his family wasn’t the _worst_ at being a family. He knows that Jeongin’s wasn’t perfect either, but he definitely knows that it’s not as screwed up as his. 

“Isn’t it just a little unfair if I told you?” Minho muses, propping his chin on the table. “Eye for an eye.”

“Fine,” Seungmin says, letting the dice roll off his hands. A smirk slowly emerges as he places his token on _Boardwalk_ , already owning _Park Place_. 

“You’re fucking kidding.” 

It only took Minho twice to land on his properties, before he reached bankruptcy. (He later decides to never play board games with Seungmin ever again.)

“Bye,” Changbin calls out as Seungmin and Minho head back to their apartment. It’s nearly three in the morning, Minho is a little bit tipsy, entangling his arms with Seungmin to keep him steady.

“It’s unfair you didn’t drink,” Minho whispers, head leaning on Seungmin’s shoulder. “We should be both walking like our minds are free of problems!”

Seungmin drags his body back before an approaching car catches him off the road. Minho almost curses at a driver, kicking the air, for driving carelessly despite being the one at fault. 

“Hyung-ah, don’t do that,” Seungmin says. Minho wears a smile on his face. “What?”

“You’ve never called me hyung before.”

“Well, I wasn’t really given the chance to be friends with you in the past, what—seven months we’ve been roommates?”

Minho laughs, still trying to walk straight. Maybe he isn’t _just_ tipsy. 

“Not my fault you were too cute.”

“Is this really the time for your confession?’

The older snorts, “Act a little braver, they said.” Minho pushes Seungmin off him, walking backwards down the street, “They also said that alcohol only gives us courage to say things we want to say or do.”

Seungmin stops walking, the older follows suit, a smile still on their faces. 

“And yours is calling me cute?” 

“I could say that when sober.”

Seungmin shakes his head, hooking his arm underneath the older, guiding the both of them back to their apartment. 

The next morning when Seungmin wakes up, he looks at the whiteboard he remembered he got rid of before the second semester started. He wipes his eyes, staring at one of Minho’s signature cat doodles (in parentheses written, Doongie) with the words _“You’re cute, Seungmo”_ and right underneath, in smaller letters were the words _“Told you I can say it sober”._

Maybe when you spend a day with the person who just had a mental breakdown, and helped them through it, you grow closer together. 

At least, that’s what happened to Seungmin and Minho.

“So you’re friends now?” Jeongin asks, shopping with Seungmin for his birthday the next day. It’s only been a couple of days since he walked in on Minho crying—of course he doesn’t mention the full details of him crying, just that they spent the day together instead of him travelling back home.

“Kinda? I don’t know.”

“You’re inviting him to your birthday?”

“Well, I can’t exactly kick him out of the apartment, that’s rude.”

Jeongin hums, picking chips off the shelf. “Is this a huge party?”

“Nah,” Seungmin checks the cart himself, returning some bags of chips Jeongin had sneaked in. “Just like, us three, then Felix, Jongho, a couple others, maybe Minho-hyung can also invite his own friends over.”

“Does he know it’s your birthday tomorrow?”

 _Shit_.

“He’ll know now,” Seungmin says, picking up his phone. He just wishes Minho isn’t “living the moment” and actually had charged his phone for the day.

 _To Lee Minho:_ _  
_my bdays tomorrow  
was hoping i could use the apt  
u can invite your friends idm

 _From Lee Minho:_ _  
_why would u tell me this so late 😾  
now i gotta rush for a bday present

 _To Lee Minho:_ _  
_don’t worry about a present  
just be there w your friends

 _From Lee Minho:_ _  
_still getting u a present  
i’ll invite all 3 of them, that ok?

 _To Lee Minho:_ _  
_yeah that’s cool  
i’ll be back soon

“Why are you smiling like that?” 

“Like what?”

“Like you’re texting your crush.”

Seungmin huffs, “You’re just saying that because you knew I was texting Minho-hyung.”

“But you’re not denying.”

“Are you going to pay for that?” Seungmin points at the bags of chips Jeongin had sneakily put back in the cart. “Because I’ll put that on a separate transaction.”

Jeongin makes a face, putting the chips one by one back to the shelf with an attitude, “Just say you have a crush on him and go.”

Seungmin’s birthday isn’t too busy. His friends are split into different groups, so he tries to hop from one circle to the next. Despite being buzzed from the alcohol he held in his hand, he thinks he can still hold decent conversations with people. 

Minho pokes him softly from behind while he was chatting with Hyunjin and Felix, something about their dance for midterms already being in talk of the department.

“Seungmo, happy birthday. Your present is coming in…” Minho reads off his phone, “Two weeks.”

“I told you to not bother.”

“Eh, I never listen to you when it comes to that,” Minho teases, dragging Seungmin out of the circle and to where Changbin, Jisung, and he supposes his best friend are all standing.

“Hey! Happy birthday,” they chorused, handing Seungmin a present each. The celebrant giggles at their accordance—a 5-pack instant ramen, metal chopsticks with a spoon and a bowl.

“Thank you! I’ll make sure to use them well.”

“You already know Changbin,” Minho says, pointing at the shortest, then to his left was—“Jisung, and Chan, my best friend.” 

“Chan,” Seungmin repeats, finally putting a face to the boy he’s kept in contact with. He shakes his hand after waving at Changbin and Jisung. “It’s good to finally meet you three. Now I don’t have to call the cops if my roommate doesn’t return for days.

“Alcohol’s by the kitchen, my friends are scattered all over the place, but there’s Hyunjin,” he points at Hyunjin still in the same circle they were with earlier, “And Jeongin, their boyfriend slash my best friend somewhere else. Sorry I’m a little bit drunk.”

“A little?” Minho teases. 

“Whatever, let me live.” To his friends, Seungmin smiles, “Can I help you with anything?”

“I think Minho got us,” that was Chan.

“Okay. Have fun!”

When the guests start to leave one by one, sometimes as a group, Seungmin settles to sit on the couch, head spinning. Soon enough, Hyunjin and Jeongin bid their goodbyes. Seungmin is unsure if it was Hyunjin being held by Jeongin or the other way around, nonetheless, one of them is too drunk to walk straight. 

Then, it’s just Seungmin and Minho.

He’s not entirely surprised he isn’t blacked out yet. Minho _had_ been switching his cup with water every now and then to help him (somehow) stay hydrated. 

“Hey!” he calls at Minho, who was busy cleaning up the cups on the coffee table in front of him. “You, come here.”

Minho laughs, “Do you need anything?”

“Come lay with me.”

“You’re not even lying down.” 

“Take me to my room and lie with me.”

Minho sighs, leaning down to pick up Seungmin, but the younger insists on dragging him down to the couch with him. He pulls the younger up, groaning at how he didn’t even put in the slightest effort in standing up.

Seungmin snuggles himself further, exhaling a huge breath against Minho’s neck. 

“I’m alright here.”

“God, you should never drink.”

Struggling, Minho carries Seungmin into his bedroom. He fixes the pillow, propping Seungmin’s head against it carefully. 

“You know,” Seungmin starts, while Minho is trying to take his socks off, “My dad’s a _huge_ dick.”

Minho stares at Seungmin. He knew he wouldn’t say anything if he was sober, so he tried not to pursue the conversation. 

“You’re drunk.”

“Yeah," Seungmin hiccups. "Yeah, I am."

“Get some sleep.” 

Minho tucks Seungmin in bed, before killing the lights. Just as he was about to close the door behind him, Seungmin mumbles a weak “Hyung?”

He sits on the bed, brushing Seungmin’s hair off his forehead. “What is it?”

“Why do you always visit home?”

Minho blinks, wiping the light tear on the corner of Seungmin’s eye. He tries to succumb a sob, as if trying to hide that he’s crying even though he wasn't exactly discrete in hiding his sniffles and his tears.

“Well, I have three cats, and they always make me feel better. I’m an only child so my mom wants to see me as much as possible and I also want to see my grandma.”

“I wish I had that.”

“Had what?”

“Someone to come home to.”

“Your sister?”

Seungmin painfully laughs, “She’s never home either. There’s nothing bearable about that place. Not even my own father would be willing to visit home.”

“I’m sure he has reasons.”

“Reasons being he fucking hates me,” Seungmin wipes his own tears aggressively this time. “Did you know he hates that I’m gay?”

Minho frowns, now brushing his thumb against Seungmin’s cheek, wiping every tear that keeps coming out.

“And my mom, she—” 

The older shushes him, afraid that Seungmin would regret spilling all his secrets while not in the proper state of mind in the morning.

Still, he continues, even when his voice cracks mid-sentence. “She never tries to defend me when it comes to him.”

Minho doesn’t say anything. He just keeps massaging the knot on Seungmin’s forehead, while also wiping the tears that were left in the corner of his eyes. Then, he starts snoring lightly. The older stands up, fixing the blanket once again.

“Goodnight, Seungmin. Happy birthday.”

The first thing Seungmin sees when he’s up is a note on the side, _drink this thank me later_ , and of course, Minho’s signature doodle right after. He gets up (struggling to do so with his head battering at his brain) to see a small plate with two capsules sitting on it, and a glass of water.

He lies back down after swallowing the pills, turning to the other side. He briefly scrolls through his phone notifications, hoping to drift back to sleep anytime after. 

_From minho hyung:_ **  
**this could be us but you playing  
[ **Attached: Instagram Link**](https://www.instagram.com/p/CDykuG1pK12/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)  
wait till the end

Seungmin snorts, opening the video to an owner adopting a golden retriever since their cat seemed to enjoy videos of them. They tested what it's like to have the dog around with the grey cat. In the end, they were sleeping together on the bed, the cat snuggled with the puppy. 

_To minho hyung:_ _  
_i remember quite clear you were the one who didn’t sleep beside me 😒

 _From minho hyung:_  
good morning to you too

 _To minho hyung:_ **  
**hi  
thanks for the meds

And Seungmin never fell back asleep again. 

— // —

“Do you want to come home with me?”

Seungmin stares at Minho. His bags were packed, ready to leave the apartment anytime soon. While Seungmin had just woken up, his hair is still a mess and he's only just about halfway done filling his bowl with milk for his cereal.

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Seungmin’s birthday, but the two have been inseparable since. Hyunjin almost always tease them whenever they run into one or both of them. Seungmin started texting Chan and his two boyfriends more casually, and sometimes Jisung sulks saying that he misses hanging out with Minho but Seungmin is “hogging him” for himself. 

“What?”

Minho sits down next to him, smiling softly, “I’m visiting home this weekend, I wrote it on the board,” he points at the fridge which Seungmin had completely missed. “And I was wondering if you’d come.”

“Why?”

He shrugs, “You mentioned that you wished you could have someone to anticipate your visit, and I’m sure my mom would be happy I’m bringing another one of my friends to visit.”

“You told—” Seungmin stops talking, the unimpressed look on Minho’s face forces him to finish the cereal that was already in his mouth before continuing. “You told her you’re bringing me?”

“No,” Minho answers truthfully, “But you can text her on the way while I drive us up town.”

“I don't want to intrude on your family time.”

“You won't be intruding anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, why else would I invite you?” Seungmin doesn’t answer. “Come on, I’ll wait for you. I’m giving you,” Minho checks his phone, “Half an hour to get dressed and be ready to leave. You can use my clothes there. We're pretty much the same size.”

“Hyung—”

“I promise you, you’re not gonna ruin this trip.” Minho says, getting up, “Plus, my cats would love to play with you.”

Seungmin finally cracks a smile. “Go get ready, you can eat on the way.”

The car ride was peaceful (for the most part). Minho was a diligent driver who would rather focus on driving than talking so Seungmin had plenty of time to just scroll mindlessly through his social media and eating the snacks he and Minho bought on the road. 

“You keep eating my chips and I’m dropping you off in the middle of a country road,” Minho warns, eyes still glued on the road. That only aggravated Seungmin, teasing Minho with a handful of chips, shoving them all in his mouth, some even dropping to the floor. “You’re so annoying.”

Seungmin hums, “You like me anyway.” 

While fixing his legs to properly sit cross-legged on the passenger seat, his words dawn on him, now waiting for Minho to counter his statement. However, he only smiles, softly blushing, eyes still steady on the road, mumbling something under his breath, inaudible for Seungmin to hear. 

“What’s that?”

“I said clean the car seat.”

Seungmin grumps, but follows suit to Minho’s words anyway. After all, he was bringing Seungmin to possibly a healthy family environment he’s always longed for as a child. 

“Are we there yet?” Seungmin asks. 

Minho quickly checks the time on the dashboard before shaking his head, “Not for a couple more hours. You wanna sleep?”

“Can I?” he pouts, his voice childlike.

“Yeah sure.” 

(By the time Minho looks at the younger on the side, Seungmin’s eyes were already closed, his knees up his chest as he hugs them, shivering slightly. Minho sighs, pulling over the side of the road to grab a blanket from the back seat. He’s convinced that Seungmin wouldn’t be able to properly sleep as he keeps shaking on the passenger seat.

Once properly wrapped in a blanket, Minho starts driving again. This time, Seungmin sneakily watches him from the side, cheeks slightly tinted from the small act of kindness.)

“So, are there any reasons you want to visit or just your monthly check-in with your family?”

Minho lifts his suitcases from the trunk of his car, while Seungmin holds the lightweight bags. Literally. On one hand, Seungmin is holding a bag full of chips and on the other, are the trash of the chips he finished while on the way.

“Um,” Minho grins, closing the trunk. “My birthday’s tomorrow.”

Seungmin barely gets a reaction out when Minho’s mother greets them with wide arms. The older shrinks to his mother’s height, letting her wrap his arms around his shoulders. Seungmin is still frozen on spot, millions of gift ideas spur in his mind. 

He remembers Minho’s present for him— one of the many board games they played that night, and he wonders if he should get something else and soon fill their apartment with games. 

That is if Minho doesn’t move out by the end of the year, just like what the contract said. Which, face the reality, is in three months.

“This is Seungmin,” he says, finally breaking the younger’s frozen feet. “He’s the roommate I told you about.”

“You didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend over! I didn’t get the other room ready.”

Seungmin blows the bangs off his forehead, recalling that _he_ was supposed to be the one to tell Minho’s mother while he drives. 

“Sorry, it slipped my mind,” Minho covers for him. “He can have my room, I can always sleep on the couch.”

“I can sleep with your _halmoni_ , you sleep in my room tonight. Then, I’ll clean the other room tomorrow.”

Seungmin wonders where Minho’s father was. He always mentioned visiting his mother, never his _parents._ He also talked about his cats and his grandmother, but not once did Seungmin hear him talk about his father. He looks at Minho in awe, would it be possible he had the same fate in luck, or lack thereof?

“Minho is right,” his mother says, interrupting his thoughts, “You sure are one dandy boy.” She scoots closer, pinching Seungmin’s cheeks. He looks at Minho, begging for him to say something and get him out of his mother’s reach, but Minho just laughs, carrying his bags inside, letting them know that he’ll be greeting his grandmother and his cats.

“Here,” his mother calls, grabbing Seungmin’s hand to follow Minho in the house. “I’ll show you Minho’s room, it’s full of his pictures from when he was young—”

“ _Eomma_ ,” Minho gruntles in the living room, sitting on the floor while petting what must’ve been one of his cats. “Please don’t show him those.”

“Why not, hyung?” Seungmin smirks. To his mother, Seungmin pulls an innocent act, “Please show me the pictures.”

He lets his arm be dragged by Minho’s mother to his childhood bedroom while he waves a mocking bye at Minho who only sticks his tongue out at him.

Minho was an adorable child. Of course, he’s also adorable as an adult, but as a child, he liked to give out kisses. His mother showed Seungmin plenty of videos and images where Minho was mostly pouting. Now that he thinks about it, Minho hasn’t changed one bit. On social media, his posts were mostly filled with him pouting, the same way he pouted at the camera as a child, and Seungmin couldn’t hold himself back from asking permission to take pictures. He convinced himself it’s just to poke fun, and definitely not because he finds Minho endearing. 

Or that he might’ve developed more than a crush for the older.

“Are you two done?” Minho redundantly asks, leaning on the doorframe. Seungmin grins, revealing his phone taking pictures of his childhood pictures. The older flushes red, running for the album but Seungmin is quick on his feet, moving away and laughing loudly as he lifts his hand up, holding it high up for the shorter to struggle to steal.

What Seungmin didn’t take accountability for, is how the older lacked to realize how close their faces would be when Seungmin’s hand is behind his head and Minho is shooting himself forward. Seungmin’s genuine laughter turns awkward, as he grows beet red and only then does Minho realize how close their faces were.

He pulls back, scratching the back of his head, “Um, you should meet my cats.”

“Okay.”

As if the night they spent at _Diced_ wasn’t enough for Minho to talk about his cats, he went on his little bubble again, talking plenty stories about his pets while softly playing with the new tricks and toys he got from the city. Seungmin would be lying if he said that he actually got to know Minho’s cats this time when he’s too busy admiring the owner. 

“What?” Minho asks.

“Huh?”

“You’re practically drooling over me.”

Seungmin fights back the urge to roll his eyes. “Your cats are cute.”

“Yeah, they're like my siblings.”

Just as Minho finishes his sentence, Soonie (from what he remembers Minho introduced him as) hisses at him, walking away, and nuzzling himself to Seungmin’s feet. The younger tries not to laugh, but still he teases,

“This one doesn’t seem to like you.”

“Shut up.”

— // —

The night passed by quickly. Minho’s mother already had the table set up for the three of them, adding just one more bowl for Seungmin. At the dining table, Minho talks about university, prompting Seungmin to join in with his own experience. And it was easy. It felt nice to talk about your life and have people actually acknowledge what you’ve done. 

Sure, Seungmin could talk to his sister about it, but the reassurance of a maternal figure is what Seungmin had longed for, and he got it with Minho’s grandmother and mother. 

After dinner, Seungmin offers to clean the dishes, hoping that the Lees wouldn’t take offense. Minho’s mother glances at her son who holds a knowing smile, before telling Seungmin that they can wash the dishes together. 

Truth is, he wanted to do something not just because he came in unannounced and felt like he was troubling the family, but he wanted the house to _feel like home._ Which seemed selfish, but he wanted to feel like he belonged somewhere, and not just an outcast.

She tells him stories, mostly about Minho, still no mentions of his father, but rather his past birthdays. Seungmin learned a lot about Minho in that one conversation, sometimes looking at the older who lie with his cats in the living room, giving them soft kisses as he offers each of them a bowl of food.

Then, they began plotting for Minho's birthday the next day. She already had a list of what to do, telling Seungmin he should just keep the older occupied until they’re ready at home, and of course, Seungmin just couldn’t wait until then. 

Once everyone is done for the night, Minho walks Seungmin to his bedroom, bidding a goodnight before disappearing behind his mother’s room. 

Seungmin shuffles on Minho’s bed, trying hard to feel comfortable and finally sleep. He isn’t sure how long it’s been, but in the end he gives up, picking up his phone to check his notifications. It’s only a few minutes before midnight, he wonders if Minho is still awake and if he could greet him right at the hour.

He sighs, forgetting what he was just thinking about and rolling to the other side with the phone still in his hands. He swipes left on every notification except Jeongin’s text, asking why he left so suddenly. 

_To yen:_ _  
_out of town w minho hyung  
Do Not Say A Word

 _From yen:_  
?/!):!:&:$2!:8:  
TELL ME EVERYTHING WHEN U GET BACK

Seungmin laughs quietly, reacting with a thumbs-down on his message. He scrolls through his playlist, hoping to find a song that would be soft enough to listen and fall asleep to. Then, he closes his eyes again.

The next hour he woke up to, it was to the sound of clashing spatulas and pans. He checks his phone only to see it’s only been three hours since he closed his eyes. 

He gets out of bed—way too fast if he was being honest—and peaks his head to see Minho dancing timidly while humming a tune Seungmin couldn’t quite place a song to. 

“Hey,” Seungmin greets, taking one of the stools to sit. 

Minho abruptly stops dancing, an embarrassed grin emerges from his lips. “How long have you been there?”

“Enough to see your butt swinging side to side.”

He threatens to throw one of the oven mitt to the younger. Seungmin laughs, shielding his face away from the glove. 

“Didn’t know your habit of waking up at 3AM comes home with you.”

Minho snorts. “Nice jammies.”

“They’re yours,” Seungmin retorts, looking at the small cats printed on the white fleece. “It’s kinda cute, if I’m being honest.”

“Mhm,” Minho mumbles. “What are you doing up?”

“Just woke up,” Seungmin answers, yawning at the root of the topic. “You?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” the older responds, grabbing a plate to place his newly cooked grilled cheese. “You want some?”

Seungmin shakes his head, no. “Happy Birthday.”

The older only grins, “Thanks.”

“So, you’re what—23 now?”

“Yep.” Minho opens the fridge, “Juice?”

“Just milk, please.”

Minho hums, picking up two glasses and pouring milk on one, orange juice for himself. He sits next to Seungmin in silence, Dori climbing the counter to purr in-between them. 

Seungmin stares at the cat, wondering if he could pet it without it hissing at him just like Soonie at Minho earlier. Minho must’ve realized what he was thinking when he grabbed Seungmin’s hand, letting it softly touch the cat’s grey fur. 

“Just try to scratch their head, but not too hard you actually leave a scratch on them,” Minho advises before letting go of his hand. 

“Did you adopt them?” Seungmin asks, head propped on the counter the same way Dori’s head was, petting him softly. He blinks up at Minho, his cheek now against the counter instead of his chin. 

Minho hums, mouth too full of grilled cheese before answering. “One at a time. He’s the newest addition.”

“You make it sound like you collect cats.”

With a straight face, Minho tells him, “I do.” 

Seungmin shakes his head, a slight smile on his face turning back to the cat. He attempts to talk to Dori in a small cat voice, telling him how his hyung is not funny. Minho flicks his forehead, continuing to eat like nothing happened. 

“Ow!” Seungmin pouts.

Minho laughs, “Such a late reaction, Seungmo.”

“My pain receptors were buffering,” he sarcastically replies. “What’s your wish for your birthday?”

The latter shrugs, getting off the stool and to the sink to dump his dishes. He briefly looks at Seungmin when he answers, “I have everything I want in this house.”

Seungmin blushes, unsure if Minho meant just his family and his cats, or if he was part of the “everything” he wanted. Overthinking Minho’s words, he misses the slight smile that tugs at the end of Minho's lip before he turns around and quickly wash the dishes.

“Are you heading back to bed?”

The older finishes racking the dishes first before answering, “Do you wanna talk for a while?”

“I could if you’re down to.”

“Let’s go,” Minho says, grabbing his glass towards the back door. Seungmin follows through, picking up his own glass and leaving a kiss on the sleeping cat on the counter. 

They sit in another comfortable silence, just watching the moon above them. Minho didn’t live in the countryside, but it was a town that had less buildings unlike their apartment’s location in centre Seoul.

“You’re wondering where my dad was earlier, weren't you?” Seungmin stops staring at the moon and to the boy who still kept his gaze towards the rock. 

“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” he begins. “My dad isn’t exactly in the picture anymore.”

Seungmin frowns.

“Just like you, he never really accepted me for who I am, and he left me with my mom, saying that she turned me “girly” and whatever else homophobic things he said.”

The younger now realizes that Minho was simply staring above to the moon to avoid showing any signs of tears falling down his face. He’s unsure whether to let him know that he’s sorry for him, but he, himself, wouldn’t want anyone to say something so overused. 

“It’s tough, you know?” Minho continues, now visibly crying. “To just want to be able to express yourself without getting judged. Much worse if it’s your own blood.”

“Yeah,” Seungmin agrees, quietly. 

“That night, when I was crying in my room,” he goes on, “My mom texted me. She said that my dad tried to reach out.” He laughs humourlessly, “He said he wanted to get to know me again. This time with an “open mind”.”

“Did you say anything?”

“No,” he simply answers. “After eight years, I never thought he’d come back and I was too stunned, and I remembered all the years I begged for him to come home. Looking at my phone that day, I didn’t know what to say.”

“And now?” Minho hums, encouraging Seungmin to continue. “Have you thought of something to say now?”

Minho doesn’t answer him, instead he asks, “Would you?”

Seungmin frowns. He’s never really thought about it. Technically, his father is still in the picture, _he_ was the one that got shunned out. 

“I don’t know,” he whispers. He takes a deep breath, desperate to come up with something to say. 

“I remember for so long, I hated myself for being gay,” Seungmin laughs at himself, choking back a sob. “That maybe it is my fault why our family turned to shit, that maybe if I was the “norm” then I wouldn’t be… we wouldn’t be—” he stops, sighing deeply. 

“It’s—what’s the word—relieving, I guess, to find people who _do_ accept you,” he changes the mood, his voice varying from earlier, like he’s more confident with what he’s saying. “All these years ever since I came out, I always wanted his acceptance but being with my sister, Jeongin, Hyunjin, and everyone else—to have those kinds of people around you, I didn’t care anymore if he didn’t.”

Then, his voice becomes unsure once again, “But at the end of the day, he’s still my father. And it’s hard to know if I will or I won’t, or even if I want to because _god—_ he really fucked me up.”

To Minho, he says, “I suppose it depends on who we are, too.”

The older nods, now looking at his hugged knees instead of the moon shining partly at them. 

“You don’t have to say anything, you know?”

“I know,” Minho whispers. “But it still makes me wonder what would happen if I do say something.”

“Then, just remember you don’t have to do anything _right away._ Take all the time you need and if he really meant it, he’d still be there.”

Minho turns his head at him, “Thanks.”

Then, it was peacefully quiet again, both staring at the sky that hovers above them. 

“You know,” Minho begins again, “I’d never forget the time I first met Chan-hyung. He had a boyfriend, it was neither Jisung nor Changbin. It was back in high school, my father just left after I came out, and I was a freshman.

“He thought I was homophobic because I kept staring at him and his boyfriend, so he went up to me and I was terrified,” Minho laughs at the memory. “He’s a huge softie but before you get to know him, he’s actually _really_ terrifying.”

“What’d you do?”

“I cried.” Seungmin stares at him, unable to form a proper reaction. “It’s okay to laugh, Chan-hyung and I laugh about it all the time.” 

(He smiles a little.)

“He’s been my rock since then. He was a lot of my first experience, figured out a lot of things together. He was my first kiss, first actual date to an event like a school’s dance, I even lost my virginity to him. He made me feel comfortable, to finally accept that yeah, I _am_ gay. At some point we thought of dating but in the end, we realized that’s not our story. Plus, he found—not just one but—two people that are perfect for him.

“And at first, not gonna lie, I was kind of jealous. If Chan-hyung can find his match, I should find mine too, right?”

“Have you?”

“Have I, what?”

“Find whoever you’re looking for?”

Minho genuinely smiles, finally glancing away from the moon and to the boy who anticipates his answer, “Let’s just say, I don’t invite random people to my house out of nowhere to celebrate my birthday for the weekend.”

Seungmin blinks at him, straightening his posture when the words slowly dawn onto him. 

“That and it’s also pretty unusual to tell my friends stories about how attractive my roommate is.”

“Stop it,” the younger blushes. 

Minho only laughs, grunting as he gets up. He offers one hand for the latter to take. “Come on, I’m pretty sure my mom is planning a surprise for me tomorrow. Or well, later.”

“What?”

“She’s not the best at secrets.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes, “How many times has she done this?”

“Every birthday, and whenever I bring someone over, she’d tell them to take me out or I take them out.” Minho smirks, “I guess you’re her victim this year.”

They walked back in the house hand-in-hand, Dori was still asleep on the counter. Minho picks him up with one arm, while refusing to let go of the hand he offered Seungmin earlier.

By Seungmin—Minho’s actual—room for the night, the younger leans his head on the frame, smiling fondly at Minho and the grey tabby. 

“Goodnight, Seungmo.”

He chuckles, not putting in an effort to correct the older, now accepting his nickname. “Goodnight.”

Then, just before he completely lets go, he pulls Minho again. “Just so you know, I don’t let random roommates cry on my shoulder for hours either.”

Minho squeezes his hand, smiling softly, “That’s good to know.”

And although unspoken words definitely still lie in the air, they knew the underlying meaning to the words they did say out loud. 

And to them, that’s more than enough. 

— // —

Minho brought Seungmin downtown. It wasn't that busy. He mentioned that it’s because the town was small and almost everyone knew the place and the people so they couldn't explore anything new. 

Throughout their stroll, their hands were brushing against each other. Trying hard to not hold hands in a small town, but also wanting to just raise up their fingers in their air, because fuck what the world thinks, right?

Still, they went through the day without holding each other’s hands, despite Seungmin’s urge to just hold Minho’s. 

When they arrived back to their house after Minho’s mother texted Seungmin, the celebrant pretended to be shocked but his mother knew he wasn’t actually surprised. But she appreciated the make believe and Minho thanked her for still not giving up on trying to surprise him. 

(Seungmin makes it his plan to be able to surprise the older one of his birthdays in the upcoming years. 

That is, if they still held the same heart for the later years to come.)

There wasn’t much of an event, just a few meals prepared, Minho didn’t like having a lot of people celebrating his birthday, Seungmin learned that during the trip. 

They called Chan on FaceTime, then soon Changbin and Jisung appeared on the screen, not missing the opportunity to tease him and Seungmin when they saw the younger beside Minho. 

The blushing only got worse when apparently, Minho’s mother had assumed that Seungmin was his boyfriend and just didn’t tell her because she quotes, “It was obvious they liked each other.”

That night, Seungmin is still in Minho’s room. The older said that the chore slipped his mother’s mind while preparing for the surprise party, and Minho now offers to share the room instead so his mother could sleep comfortably in her room. She doesn’t tease as much as Minho, but still she says, “The 3-inch rule still applies.” Which only made Seungmin more red, if that was even still possible.

Seungmin lies awake, facing the other side of Minho, afraid that if he turns around Minho would be facing him and be able to hear the loud thumping coming from his chest. He tries to not shuffle on the bed so much when he attempts to be comfortable enough again to sleep. The music already playing did not help at all. 

“Can’t sleep?” Minho asks. Seungmin finally faces the older who had his eyes closed, body towards Seungmin.

“Sorry,” he mumbles. “I don't do well when sleeping at other people’s houses.”

Minho hums, eyes still closed, “We can talk if you want.”

“About what?”

Slowly, Minho open his eyes, meeting Seungmin’s, “About last night.”

Seungmin opens his mouth, but doesn’t say a word, instead chuckling awkwardly. “What’s there to say?”

“More like what’s left to _do.”_

He watches the distance between him and Minho get shorter, his scent getting a little bit stronger, his heart beating a little bit faster. 

And they both inch closer.

_And closer._

Until,

_Meow._

Seungmin bites his lip, holding a laugh but doesn't move back despite an orange furred cat on his peripheral view, staring at them from the foot of the bed.

“Your cat is watching us,” he whispers against Minho’s lips.

“He is,” Minho agrees. “I still want to kiss you though.”

“I won’t be against that.”

When Minho finally closes the gap and Seungmin kisses him back, his mind becomes hazy. The kiss is intoxicating, _Minho_ is addicting. He pushes further, propping Seungmin’s chin up to give him more control of the kiss. Just as Minho’s tongue slides between his lips, Seungmin feels a different tongue lick his cheek. 

He breaks the kiss, laughing uncontrollably when Doongie makes no prompting that he’ll be going away. 

“Ah, Doongie,” Minho grumbles, petting the cat's fur. “Go sleep with your other siblings.” 

Doongie doesn’t follow through, instead nuzzling his head in the middle of the two, licking his paw now rather than Seungmin’s cheek.

“I don’t think he’ll be going away anytime soon,” Seungmin says in between his fit of giggles. 

“No,” Minho agrees. “This is his bed now.”

Seungmin ends his laughter with a sigh, petting the cat in the middle. “We should get some sleep, too. We have a long day ahead of us.”

The latter hums, guiding Seungmin’s hand carefully to scratch Doongie, exactly the way the cat likes it. 

“Goodnight,” Minho says, propping his head to kiss Doongie’s nose. He repeats his words, but this time, he kisses Seungmin’s lips briefly. 

Seungmin smiles, kissing back just as softly and quickly, “Goodnight, hyung.”

— // —

Coming back to the apartment is strange. When they left their apartment three days ago, their relationship was strictly platonic and having late night talks with the older was basically their whole relationship. But now, when they enter their apartment, Minho crashes on the couch, pulling Seungmin to the couch so he can lie on top of him, nuzzling his head on the younger's chest. 

(Bonus, they kiss a lot more.)

— // —

Hyunjin is the first to notice the changes with the unlabelled couple, piercing their eyes whenever they would sit with them and Jeongin for lunch. It wasn’t a huge change per se— they weren’t spelling for anyone that they may or may not be dating nor were they going around campus clingy like Chan and his boyfriends or Jeongin and his partner. They were neutral for the most part. 

In one of Seungmin's usual invites (it was a routine that started when Minho would usually only speak one or two words to him and he’s dreading some sort of human interaction), Hyunjin corners the two, asking, “Are you two dating?”

Seungmin and Minho look at each other, waiting for each other to answer. In all honesty, Seungmin, himself, doesn’t know if they were or were not dating. Minho never said anything about it, but they _do_ act like a couple especially when they’re alone in the apartment by themselves.

(He suppose Minho doesn’t really say a lot of things anyway.)

Minho is first to break eye contact, facing Hyunjin when he answered, “Sure.” 

Seungmin blinks, eyes bulging out of his socket with how effortless the words came out of Minho’s lips. Hyunjin, on the other hand, doesn’t see that and hugs the (apparently) couple, telling them how they’re so happy that they’re dating.

Seungmin pats their back, “Yeah, so happy.” He looks at Minho from behind Hyunjin, raising an eyebrow. Minho simply shrugs, before letting go of Hyunjin and telling the two he’ll prepare the popcorn. Hyunjin jumps to their boyfriend, breaking the news, and lending out their hand for Jeongin to slide in money. Seungmin doesn't comment, instead thinks about Minho's answer.

That night, as Seungmin went to bed, he thinks back to the conversation in the kitchen, wondering if Minho was serious about what he said, or if he just said to fuck with Hyunjin’s brain. He usually does it with his friends, so Seungmin wouldn’t be surprised if he did that just for the show. But he would be lying if he doesn’t admit to himself that he wished Minho wasn’t just joking around.

He screams into a pillow, unsure if he should walk to Minho’s room to ask or not because he knew he wouldn’t get any sleep any time soon anyway. He sighs, blowing the messed bangs on his forehead before walking towards the door. He holds the knob firmly, planning on his head what he wants to say or how the conversation would go. It would either be really awkward if Minho didn’t mean it, but it would be a huge sense of relief if he did mean it.

In the end, Seungmin opens the door without a concrete plan. He hopes to come up with one on the spot once Minho opens his door (he also hopes that the older would be asleep). But none of that actually happened when Seungmin opened his door to Minho standing on the opposite side of the door, hand raised to a fist at a level to knock.

“Knock, knock,” he says anyway, putting his hand down.

“Hi,” Seungmin greets, awkwardly, still unsure of what to say. Minho should’ve been in his room so he has more time to think!

“Listen, about earlier…” Minho begins.

“Did you mean it?” Minho purses his lip, Seungmin thinks he completely read the signs wrong, laughing at himself. “Of course not, sorry, that would've been stupid. Goodnight.”

He attempts to close the door, but Minho extends out his arm, stopping him from doing so. 

“I did, I just—” he sighs, “I never got to ask you and now I want to and you’re giving me really mixed signals here.”

“Me? How?”

“Well, do you like me?”

Seungmin almost laughs, “Wasn’t it obvious?”

“How would it be—” Minho breathes, calming down. With a lower and calmer voice, he starts again. “You never said anything.”

“Neither did you!”

“I told you, I don’t invite random people to my house! And my wish was everyone _in_ that house,” Minho explains, his voice straining to get the words out. “I told you, you were attractive too!”

“Could be objective,” Seungmin argues. “And I told you I don’t let random roommates cry on my shoulder.”

“Okay, so will you or will you not be my boyfriend?”

“God, you’re so annoying,” he breathes, grabbing Minho’s face to kiss him. Minho stands frozen, unresponsive to the kiss but not long after, he melts into the touch, pulling Seungmin closer.

“I can’t believe you thought I didn’t like you,” Minho says, breaking the kiss.

Seungmin shushes him, “Just keep kissing me.”

— // —

  
  


_To minho hyung <3: _ **  
**this could be us but you playing  
[ **Attached: Instagram Link**](https://www.instagram.com/p/CFMWKh_HgRR/) **  
**happy halloween

 _From minho hyung <3: _ _  
_gettign brave now are we?

 _To minho hyung <3: _ _  
_act a little braver a wise man once told me

 _From minho hyung <3: _ _  
_u make me sound old

 _To minho hyung <3: _  
🙄🙄  
just come home already

  
  


— // —

**Author's Note:**

> [ 4 ] if you click on the Attached: Instagram Link, it should take you to the post itself
> 
> [ 5 ] huge thank you and congratulations to the moderator for handling and succeeding and answering my dumb questions hehe
> 
> thank you so much for reading! ♡
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/seungcentric)


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